Written by Will Graves
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — Mason Rudolph isn’t afraid to admit his mind drifts toward the future as the season wears on and he continues to remain at the bottom of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ depth chart.
“You have confidence in yourself as a player,” the longtime backup quarterback said. “But I’m kind of thinking, ‘Am I going to jump into commercial real estate next year or am I going to play quarterback?'”
You may have to wait to change jobs. There may be life in Rudolph’s NFL career and the Steelers’ unruly season.
On Saturday, more than two years after he last appeared in a regular-season game, Rudolph threw for 290 yards and two long touchdowns against struggling wide receiver George Pickens, leading the Steelers to 34 They won 11-1, giving momentum to their fading playoff hopes. Cincinnati Bengals.
Pittsburgh (8-7) is third on the roster with tenure as Kenny Pickett is still recovering from right ankle surgery and second-stringer Mitch Trubisky has been ineffective in two starts. He turned to the long player. With the Steelers on a three-game losing streak, Rudolph responded by making the kind of big plays that the NFL’s 28th-ranked offense had lacked for years.
He set Pickens on Pittsburgh’s second offensive snap for an 86-yard catch-and-run touchdown, followed by a rainbow lob in the third quarter that led to Pickens’ 66-yard score and the Steelers’ first win since 2020. Recorded the highest score.
“I felt like we were balanced and did a good job,” said Rudolph, who completed 17 of 27 passes for 290 yards.
Even before Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season, such feelings were rare for Pittsburgh. The Steelers have relied heavily on their defense to find a way to win close games over the past three years, and the offense has largely responded.
Rudolph spent most of his time on the sideline wearing a headset or holding a clipboard, feeling a bit like a freeloader. The 28-year-old knows his chances to prove himself are running out, which was one of the reasons he couldn’t sleep before Tuesday’s practice.
There was no sleepless night on Friday. Probably because Rudolph felt he was ready. He certainly looked like that as he led the Steelers to a 24-point lead at halftime.
With the team’s season in jeopardy and speculation mounting that his 17-year tenure may be coming to an end, coach Mike Tomlin told his players: “I’m worried that money doesn’t make money.” ” he said.
Translation: Go out and tear it up.
For the first time in a while, the Steelers did just that. Pickens, 22, fended off criticism for his sometimes lackadaisical play by showing off the game-breaking talent Tomlin was obsessed with before the 2022 opener. draft.
Pickens caught four passes for 195 yards, including a 44-yard sideline grab just before halftime that set up a field goal, but later criticized himself for the week. He made an apology of sorts for saying that the people playing the game were “media personnel” who had never played the game. . Still, he said he kept his “receipts” and called the negative atmosphere surrounding the Steelers “external noise.”
“People often want to question (our efforts),” Pickens said. “But it just shows you (who we are).”
Pittsburgh’s path to the playoffs remains complicated and who knows what will happen next week against Seattle as Pickett prepares to return from right ankle surgery, but the Steelers will beat the Bengals for the first time since 2019. By breaking it, we made some progress on that path. Navigatable.
Cincinnati (8-7) is still a contender, but it falls to 3-2 with Jake Browning starting in place of injured Joe Burrow. The longtime practice squad player threw for 335 yards and a touchdown, but was picked off three times and had three turnovers all resulting in opposite scores.
“This is a humiliating league and a humiliating day,” Bengals manager Zac Taylor said.
Cincinnati finished with Tee Higgins’ five receptions for 140 yards and an 80-yard touchdown, but the game was effectively over with Rudolph going deep on third down and scoring on the Steelers’ next possession. Streaming pounced on Pickens. Pickens ran underneath and swung past defenders to push the lead back to 23 points.
By the time the clock expired, the crowd was singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and the long-delayed quarterback was scouring the stands looking for his parents.
No one knows if he’ll start next week. Tomlin said it’s too early to say. Rudolph has been through enough that he knows there is no point in getting ahead of himself. The player, who remembers receiving a treehouse as a Christmas present as a child, received the game ball from defensive tackle Cam Heyward in the locker room, jubilant and relieved.
“This is quite expensive (too),” he said with a laugh.
injury
Steelers: LB Elandon Roberts left the game early in the second quarter with a chest injury and did not return.
next
Bengals: On Dec. 31, the Bengals will visit Kansas City, a playoff regular for the past two seasons.
Steelers: The Steelers will face the Seahawks in Seattle on December 31st, seeking their second win in franchise history.